MMA News

Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida Booked For UFC 140 Main Event

The UFC has booked a mega fight for their main event in Toronto this December in the form of Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida.

Rashad Evans was originally tapped to face Jones in his next title defense, however, due to an injured thumb Evans will not be able to make the UFC 140 card and the UFC has opted to put Machida in his place.

Dana White took to twitter this afternoon with the announcement, “Alright Toronto!!! Dec 10th UFC 140 tix go on sale next weekend and ur main event is Bones Jones vs Machida”, said the statement.

UFC 140 is set to take place in Toronto on December 10 from the Air Canada Centre. A light-heavyweight title fight between current champ Jon Jones and former champ, Lyoto Machida will serve as the evening’s main event, live on pay-per-view.

Having not seen action since his UFC 129 victory over Randy Couture this past April, Karate master, Lyoto Machida will finally get a chance to regain his title lost at the hands of Mauricio “Shogun” Rua this December. With an overall record of 17-2 Machida is one of the most dangerous fighters in the 205 pound division.

Jones has looked invincible in all of his professional outings. We last saw him go into uncharted territory against the former champion, Rampage Jackson at UFC 135 just last month when Jackson took the champ to the fourth round. It was a gutsy performance from the challenger, but still, Jones was able to lock on a choke and finish the fight just as he always does.

Many MMA analysts have predicted that Lyoto Machida has the style to beat Jones and now we will find out once and for all.

Wow noob, did you just start watching mma 6 months ago??? You really think Phil Davis is 2 fights away from a title shot? He hasn’t even fought a top 5 LHW yet. IMO this is the best match right now, you really don’t know what you’re talking about if you so easily discount Machida. Machida has the best style and speed for Jones’ reach. Way far more intriguing matchup than Evans.

yeh vic i agree with it being a great match up, however i disagree about phil davis and believe two smart fights could give him a title shot, not that he would be ready, but the ufc would give it to him anyways

You could be right.. UFC is kinda impulsive riding hype sometimes. But with Jon Jones getting fast tracked compared to Phil Davis is different. Jones had the complete package, while Davis’ striking is there yet, he’s just an awesome wrestler at the moment, imo.

Definitely going to be a very interesting matchup. Machidas awkward striking, and great counter striking could pose a problem for Jones. BUT… JBJ is masterful at using his range, and doesn’t use the same everyday takedowns that others use.

I hate it when people say things like “Machida will get smashed because he lost to shogun and shogun got smashed”.. That is something very idiotic to say!! Styles make fights you dumb asses!!

Machidas fighting style is very elusive and I believe will cause jones some problems… I would most definitely give Machida the best shot of winning besides anyone else in the division solely because if his style.

machida is counter-puncher. he waits for his opponent to strike, eludes, and then strikes back. and if he lands one, he quickly jumps all over his opponent. (exception: Couture). Jones strikes from such a distance that lyoto will have to make up that distance with speed. easier said than done. we haven’t seen machida on his back yet. i bet we will at UFC 140. jones’ kicks and reach will be busy that night. machida will be taken down. jones will do what jones does: overwhelm and pound. i think Lyoto will get smashed after ending up on his back. has nothing to do with shogun or rampage.

I dont see anyone other than Anderson Silva beating Jones. And even then I dont think its a lock. He is a cornball…but Ill pay to watch him destroy people ..hoping someone comes along who can take his goofy ass out.

Wow, I wasn’t expecting this. I hope everyone stays healthy and arrives ready to fight. I think Machida’s going to be working on timing and lining up series of flurries on Jones. He can’t give Jones a chance to put him in a defensive position.

Don’t you guys see what they’re doing… They’re trying to make the winner of this vs rashad as the next ultimate fighter coaches. Of course they want precious JJ to win, but machida is a badass. Jones can have one hell of a year if he pulls out this W.

Dude Jone’s has been on a tear! Just alone in 2011 he already took out Bader, Shogun, and Rampage…convincingly! He’s pretty much taking out all the top 5 guys in a rapid time frame, just Machida & Rashad left! And maybe Henderson too, meh!

This is very ironic news! Wasn’t there a bunch of discussion blogs yesterday going over how the ufc is on “bad terms” w/ him!! LOL Wow, this prolong matchup w/ Rashad is just gonna keep dragging on I see, didn’t he also say Jone’s was going to try & be the one to pull out? Haha I guess Machida made the right decision not to step in to fight Tito, regardless of that outcome he still gets a title shot w/ his last 3 fights being 1-2-0! Can’t wait to finally see if Machida’s elusiveness can actually make a difference against the young champ!

when have you seen machida taken down ..beef up his takedown defence are you serious…couture,evans,ortiz better wrestlers couldent take him down, jones style is greco roman where his take downs come in when he gets close he doesent shoot in…this is machida the most elusive mma fighter ever dont think wrestlin will be a threat, i think machida got this, jones says he new school but so is machida..jones biggest weapon is his reach which lets him dictate the pase of the fight..i think machidas speed moving in and out while his also unpredictable striking wont let jones settle in to this fight right away giving machida a great chance in the first few rounds while jones tries to adapt to his style, jones cant find a fighter to simulate machida, while silva is the perfect fighter to simulate jones

The ufc knows machida beat rampage. And old man couture was beating everyone in lhw until machida ktfo of him. Machida deserves the shot. If rashad really wanted to fight he wouldn’t let a thumb injury hold him back

Yeah, Dan henderson. Put Shogun on the card with rampage in Japan. Lyoto doesnt even come close to deserving a title shot.

Plus I think they should have just waited another 4 weeks and put it on a late january card to give rashad time to heal. They knew he had the thumb injury. Rashad gets screwed over again. And who is there for him to even fight now when he comes back? Rampage? Bader? Forrest?

WHAT THE F***! When I got DW’s tweet, I thought someone had hacked his account. When I got this update, I thought the same thing. Is this fight for real, is Dana not giving Jones a break period, this kid will fight 3 times this year. WOW, holy s***, Machida will be the one to cause problems for the champion, let the kicks fly! PENN NATION!!!!!!!

just like any other job you need to be cleared by a doctor to return to work, the only difference for the fighters that work for the ufc is the rules are more strict, and we all know rashad had a cast on his hand so he was injured so to suggest hes trying to get out of this fight that can get him his belt back is just ppl being haters… Im not a rashad fan but im not a hater either
I like machidas style over rashads to make this a more exciting fight to watch anyway

This will be the best fight for 2011. Two top fighters giving their best. My vote will be for Machida, he’s more skilled than anything thinks, and don’t think he’s the same Machida that fought Shogun. Jones better send his spies because Jones is in for some danger.

bet machida will sparr a lot with anderson silva to get as similar type of style as he can get for this fight but still think jones will come out on top because even though silva and bones are similar jones is more unpredictable gonna be a great fight though

damn all the machida hate. if there is one person in LHw divison who can actually defeat jon jones its lyoto machida, his style is the best to go up against jones! ill be pulling for machida to finish jones in under 3 rounds!

You’re a complete idiot. Style makes fight bro, Machida uses quick and elusive movements with timed counter attacks. Rampage provided a good blueprint on defeating jones, good head and lateral movements + tdd. Rampage did have success when he added kicks to his combination. Jones has a very thin legs compared to other light heavyweights, we’ll see what happens when he got his legs beat up. anyways interesting fight though great match up.

WONDER HOW MACHIDA IS GOING TO GET INSIDE THAT 84 INCH REACH TO KICK HIS LEGS. I BELEIVE YOUR THE COMPLETE IDIOT. BONES IS GOING TO WORK OVER THE WAY OVER HYPED MACHIDA. HIS STYLE IS DOO DOO AND I CANT WAIT FOR JONES TO SMASH HIS F ING FACE IN WITH ELBOWS.

jones is cool i really dont care about the light heavy weight class but dont be fooled by whats going on because evens coach told dana give him a date and he could have evans put that fight off until feb and evans would of been ready i dont evans at all i just dont but with all the hate and rage he has inside plus with his lay on you get points and repeat dana knows he has a chance moreso than anyone to beat him and right now jon jones is his cash cow and hes going to ride this until to wheels fall off dont be surpised aftered this jones will have a hand injury or something then evans will fight then next thing you know forrest griffin will get a title shot dana will take advantage of this for as long as he can

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